Permanent Lock
by ipio
Summary: During her last night on earth, a grandmother tries to say goodbye to a little girl she loves very, very much. Liz character piece.


On the eve of her last night on earth, a grandmother was having a quiet moment with her great-grandchild, a girl by the age of six. Unlike most deathbeds nowadays, there were no wires or machines, or IV's. The grandmother had insisted against it. She had told her doctors and sons flat out the she had no desire to cling to life for a few extra weeks if it meant having a machine "Eat, breathe, and piss" for her. Despite the lack of machines, the Granddaughter still felt that something was wrong. Her beloved gramps who, even in her 90's, could never sit still, was lying nearly motionless. Her beloved gramps who, even in her 90's, was always covered in paint, was clean.  
  
The little girl had heard sad voices lately, hushed words behind closed doors. Her father would often get a phone call, look at mommy, and the two of them would leave the room to discuss "adult things." It wasn't fair! The little girl knew it was about her gramps! She was almost an adult. She wanted to know too. Without realizing it, the little girl started to cry.  
  
The grandmother smiled sadly and reached out to wipe the tears from her beloved's face. She paused, and let her hand rest upon the child's cheek. "Why do you cry my angel?" she asked.  
  
The little girl, very intelligent for one so young, replied "I think something bad is happening. Daddy told me to come in here and talk to you. Mommy said it's because I may not see you again for a long time. I don't want you to go away."  
  
The grandmother smiled and brushed a stand of hair from the little girl's face. "My beautiful, darling little girl. I need you to remember something. It's very important, okay?"  
  
The little girl nodded. And her grandmother proceeded to tell her something that she would never forget. Something that she would tell to her children one day.  
  
"I will never leave you. Never. You may not understand this right now; but- " The grandmother paused and sighed. How to you explain death to someone so young? Then she got an idea.  
  
"You feel this hand against your cheek my love? Do you see Grandma's nose, and cheeks, and arms, and legs?"  
  
The little girl nodded.  
  
"These things, soon they won't be here. But look into my eyes. You see my eyes?"  
  
Once again, the girl nodded. "Mommy says we have the same eyes."  
  
The grandmother smiled. "Mommy's right. We have the same eyes. Darling, this body.This body is going to go away soon. But that's okay. Because you and me, my love for you, and your love for me. That's not going anywhere. You're mine, and I'm yours. You have your own special place in my heart, and in my soul. I have a special place in your heart in soul. I love you, and you love me."  
  
"You've got my heart. That's a permanent lock. Everything that I am, loves you. My, soul, my mind, my body, my spirit. That will never change."  
  
She smiled and continued. "Whenever you miss me, I want you too look into the mirror and know that a part of me is inside of you. When you feel scared or sad, I want you to look into the mirror and know that I will watch over you. If you ever feel alone, I want you to look into your eyes, my eyes, our eyes, and know that you will never be alone."  
  
The little girl smiled squeezed her grandmother's hand. "So, you'll always be with me?"  
  
"Exactly my love. When you sing in the talent show next month, when you go on your first date, when you graduate from school, when you get married-"  
  
The Grandmother fought back tears at the thought of all of the events in her great-granddaughter's life she wouldn't get to take part of. "-And all of the important things in between. Even if I can't touch you, I will be there. And I will be so proud of you. And you'll be able to feel that. Even if you can't see me. You can still feel me. You can still love me, just like I can still love you. That will never ever change. Nothing can take away the love we have for each other."  
  
The little girl nodded. "I understand." The grandmother could tell that she really did.  
  
"I know you do." The grandmother wiped away her own tears with her spare hand. "Now, I want you to give me a hug."  
  
The little girl did as she was asked. She held onto her grandmother very tightly, because she was beginning to understand that she wouldn't be able to again. Her grandmother kissed the little girl on top of the head, and ran her hands through the little girl's hair.  
  
"And I want you to remember another thing, okay?" The little girl nodded, and buried her head deeper into her grandmother. "Angel, I can look back on my time here-and be very happy. I lived. And not everyone can say that."  
  
"I fell in love, and was happier than I thought possible. I got hurt-"  
  
The Grandmother paused, overpowered by memories of people and events long past "I lost people, and I felt more despair than I ever thought possible. I painted, I danced, and I saw the world. I helped people. Without meaning to, I hurt people as well. That made me human."  
  
As the grandmother continued, she realized that what she way saying to her great-granddaughter was for her own benefit as well.  
  
"And being human, living life, is a precious, wonderful thing. And I wish that for you. Because without the bad times, We can't appreciate the good times. Without the people that we dislike, and there will be people you dislike sweetheart, and that's okay. Just don't hate. You need to trust me on this darling, hating is a waste of time, and it can only lead to bad things. I've seen it happen and I don't want it to happen to the little girl I love most in this world. Okay?"  
  
The small child, now crying quite openly along with her grandmother, nodded.  
  
"Good. Now, without the people that you dislike, You can't appreciate the people that you love. And you are a very, very wonderful girl, so there will be a lots of people you love that love you back."  
  
The grandmother took a deep breath, a gently released the child from her grasp. She then took her granddaughter's face into her hands, and looked deep into the little girls eyes. Those familiar blue eyes.  
  
"I love you. I'm always with you. When you leave this room, it's okay if you're sad for a little while. And when you go to a big church, where a lot of people are dressed up and talking about me, it's okay if you get bored. It's okay if you want to kick off the dress shoes that Mommy will make you wear. It's okay if you sneak up into the pews because you want to know what the view looks like from up there. I want you to remember this, and I want you to tell Daddy that I said it was okay. Tell him I said he better listen to his mother."  
  
"I've.I've written you a couple of letters to read when you're older. They say the same thing. That I love you. That I want you to live a full life. That it's okay if you make mistakes. That I have faith in you. If you remember nothing else that I've said today, remember that."  
  
The girl nodded and smiled a little. "I'll remember Grandma. You're in my heart.And my soul. And that's a permanent lock."  
  
The Grandmother broke out into a smile. "That's right. You sound just like your great-grandpa."  
  
"Grandpa Lucas?"  
  
"We liked to call him Lucky. He's inside of you too. We have a rule in this family. Did daddy ever tell you that?"  
  
The little girl searched her brain. "Yes.He said the family rule was always have your.back covered?"  
  
"That's right. And you know what my darling? You always will."  
  
Author's notes: Well, it's a one shot. I was watching GH the other day, and I remember thinking that I really hope Liz ages as gracefully as Audrey did. Then this popped in my head. Originally, I wasn't even going to mention who she married, because that's not the point of the story. But I thought of the "Permanent Lock" speech and it's also a really good way to explain how love goes on after death, and I wanted it in the story. This is NOT a Liz/Lucky story. It is a Liz character piece. If you have any comments, by all means, write a review or e-mail me. 


End file.
